February 10, 2021 | No.17 |
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Webinar: International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Thursday, February 11, 2021, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. CGIAR is excited to join the celebrations organised by WIRES, a new employee-led resource group (ERG), to showcase the many ways in which CGIAR’s women scientists are transforming the way that we look at our food, land, and water systems everywhere around the world. Register
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Capacity Strengthening: Navigating Peer Review
Peer-reviewed publication is the primary output currency of the research community. Two reasons are that peer review is an essential quality control mechanism and that peer-reviewed publication expands the domain of prospective impact of one’s research. Each of those reasons is especially valuable for policy-oriented research. But the peer review process can be opaque for researchers inexperienced with the system. How does one target an appropriate journal? What and how does one submit a paper for peer review? How does one best respond to invitations to revise and resubmit? And when the tables turn and one is asked to review a paper for a journal, or a grant proposal for a funding agency, what are best practices? In this training session, Chris Barrett, a well-published scholar who has served as editor of multiple leading journals, will help unpack the process and provide insights based on his experience. READ MORE
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Kenya gears up for gene edited crops to boost food security
Sorghum, a drought-tolerant traditional crop, is quite an unlucky cereal. It is hard to digest and lacks taste; two undesirable qualities that have made it less popular among modern consumers. Even in water-stressed villages where the crop was once common for its resilience, farmers are slowly abandoning it because of its vulnerability to Striga, a lethal plant weed. Professor Steven Runo, a molecular biologist and a genome-editing researcher at Kenyatta University, is, however, determined to make the grain popular again. READ MORE
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New Pan-African Trade Deal Can Transform the Continent’s Food Systems
Now that it is in effect, the AfCFTA will be one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people and up to USD$3 trillion in combined GDP. It also has the potential to increase intra-African trade by more than 50 per cent, which would add an estimated USD$76 billion in income to the rest of the world. African nations have already made determined efforts to increase trade among themselves through eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) officially recognized by the African Union, and via many additional regional trade agreements. READ MORE
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Land, climate, energy, agriculture and development in the Sahel
At an online event on January 19, 2021, researchers from national research institutes and universities in the Sahel region and Germany, namely the Agrhymet Regional Centre of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) in Niger and the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn (ZEF) in Germany launched a series of national cases studies*) and a regional synthesis report on rural development, agricultural livelihoods and job creation in the Sahel region. The national case studies and the regional synthesis paper provide up-to-date knowledge and critical insights on the nexus of land degradation, climate change and energy in the Sahel. READ MORE
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Policy innovations to expand food and agriculture trade in Africa
Agricultural trade is a connector and a key avenue for addressing global challenges. It offers opportunities for actors to integrate into international markets through global value chains, creates new employment opportunities, catalyses backward and forward investments along various value chains and reduces the cost of goods and services, including food. In this respect, trade is a critical enabler of socio-economic activity, resulting in positive impacts on income, livelihoods and welfare along the agrifood value chain. READ REPORT
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Political economy analysis of the Kenyan food systems
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the need for more sustainable food systems for tackling challenges such as malnutrition, poverty, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and climate change. However, limited access to financial resources often hampers the acceleration towards more sustainable food systems. The AgrInvest-Food System project seeks to attract private investments aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into food systems by leveraging public funds. This publication supports the AgrInvest-Food Systems project by analysing Kenya’s national food system through a food systems and political economy approach. READ REPORT
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Agnes Kalibata, the UN's Food Systems Chief, on How Science Can Transform Farming to Help Save the Planet
Agricultural systems are one of the biggest contributors to climate change, producing about 20% of total global emissions. At the same time, the single biggest threat of climate change is the collapse of global food systems. As the world population grows, the climate heats up and resources become more scarce, how will we ensure we have enough food to go around? READ MORE
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The Call for Applications for the 2021 Cohort of the One Planet Fellowship opens
The call for the third cohort of the One Planet Fellowship is now open for applications. The One Planet Fellowship seeks to build a vibrant, highly connected, and inter-generational network of African and European scientists equipped to use a gender lens to help Africa’s smallholder farmers adapt to a changing climate. The call for applications closes on February 15, 2021, 23:59 East Africa Time (GMT+3). READ MORE
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ANH2021 Call for Abstracts
The ANH Academy invites the submission of abstracts for the 6th ANH Academy annual Research Conference, focused on the nexus of agriculture and food systems, nutrition and health, to be held online from 21 June - 2 July 2021. The conference programme will include selected papers for oral presentations of various formats as well as poster sessions. We welcome abstracts from all relevant disciplines, including but not limited to economics, nutrition, public health, epidemiology, environmental sciences, agronomy, social and political sciences, and anthropology. Abstract applications are due 28 February 2021 at 23:59 GMT. READ MORE
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